What Is Genocide?

Throughout the course of the years, scholars, politicians, teachers and historians have debated over the true definition of the word genocide. This controversial topic has utterly reshaped many individual’s minds and perspective on what the word truly means. Yet, this word has a variety of definitions to a variety of different people. The general definition of genocide is defined as “the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation” However, the definition of genocide goes beyond what is described in a common dictionary. The true definition of a genocide lies in the memories of those who have suffered tremendously and were discriminated against because of their ethnicity, a genocide
Unfortunately, any town that was populated by Armenians was completely emptied with brutal force. Armenian individuals were left homeless, injured, and hopeless after the harsh home invasions that occurred. Yet, not only were they stripped of their homes but valuable assets and sentimental items as well. A significant amount of deportations occurred in 1915 that left several individuals displaced and yearning for a safe haven.“ Turkish aggressions against Armenians during World War I, Mehmed Talat, the Ottoman minister of the interior, announces that all Armenians living near the battlefield zones in eastern Anatolia (under Ottoman rule) will be deported to Syria and Mosul”. Sadly, with the use of propaganda, the Ottoman empire managed to display the Armenians in an inimical light, they justified the deportations by professing that it was necessary in order to preserve civil order. However, the most tragic events that occurred were the death marches. Mothers, fathers, and children were forced to walk in extreme conditions which utterly lead to the appalling death of many. Many Armenians died walking in this treacherous march to the Syrian desert from cholera, dehydration or fatigue. The corpses began to pile up, yet, no funeral was ever held for these individuals, they were considered unimportant to the
However, the Turks failed to realize that they were hurting human beings that were genuinely good and only sought to practice their religion in peace. Approximately about two million Armenians were massacred. However, they were killed and tortured in heinous ways. For instance, Armenian women were sexually assaulted consistently by Turkish officers as a method of torture which deprived them of their morals and inflicted emotional trauma. There were several instances where women were humiliated and raped in front of their families in order to abase them and if they refused they were brutally killed. In fact, sexual humiliation was a common practice for officers during the Armenian genocide, “Many Armenian women genocide survivors were raped or forced into harems. Later, they were ashamed to talk about what they had experienced.”. However, not only did women suffer but men as well. Armenian men were humiliated and killed in many ways, in 1915, men were shot in front of their families or heinously tortured by severe bodily mutilation. These individuals were deprived of their choice and free will and were forced to subdue into heinous actions. Unfortunately, there were stripped of their humanity and treated as threats to society. The actions that were committed against Armenians were injustices, they were treated poorly and abased